Britain is struggling to cope with a nationwide obesity crisis and the county now holds the title of most overweight nation in western Europe.

And the BBC has now offered a spotlight for a cross section of medically obese individuals to share their experiences of living as overweight citizens.

A number of men and women have dared to strip naked and open up about the abuse they receive simply for being overweight.

And they also explain how they gained weight for a BBC Three documentary titled The Naked Truth which is streaming now - here are some of the stories shared on the eye-opening documentary.

Kat works as a fitness instructor - leading to predictable reactions from clients (Image: BBC)

KAT

At 17 Stone, Kat says she receives a predictable response when people attend her classes where she works as a fitness instructor.

"You see these people walk in and look around to figure out who the instructor is and they look at you and they’re like ‘Oh’,” she explains.

"Why has weight got to be a thing? Just because I am a big girl doesn’t mean I can’t be active and it doesn’t mean you have the right to judge me based on what I look like,” she adds.

Kat fell pregnant when she was 16 and turned to comfort eating when her boyfriend at the time left.

"I basically developed a really unnatural with food and started comfort eating. I went up from a size 12 to a size 28 and that was probably in about a month and a half,” she says admitting she would binge on 24 Cadbury Creme Eggs in one day.

Kat appears to reject the idea that obese people should lose weight to achieve healthier lives, saying: "Understanding that every body is beautiful regardless of its shape and size. We are all inhabiting a body and we all have to live with a body. So why are we judging each other’s bodies? Why can’t we just be happy for each other?”

Corey reveals being picked on by his family made him gain more weight (Image: BBC)

COREY

Corey weights 22 stone and says his siblings contributed to his weight issues when their approach to encouraging him to lose weight backfired.

"They used to call me fatty fatty bum bum, and say 'who ate all the pies?’ 'Me and my brother spoke about it [recently] and he said he used to say it as motivation. [He thought] that I would get so sick and tired of being called fatty bum bum that I would go and lose weight,” Corey explains.

"When in reality all that made me do is think 'well, I am fat'. It will get me down and then I will just go for the packet of crisps or chocolate bar,” he said.

He says he is trying to control his diet by restricting what he eats to the contents of a lunch box, continuing: "A yoghurt, a couple of sandwiches, a pack of crisps, a chocolate bar and a small cake… Once that is gone, that is gone."

Jed claims he might not have become a comedian if he hadn't gained as much weight (Image: BBC)

JED

At 22 stone, Jed claims his weight has been the key to him creating a career as a comedian.

"If I wasn’t fat, maybe I’d be a different person,” he reasons as he speaks on the show.

"Maybe I wouldn’t have developed a personality where I had to make people laugh to get them to like me - so maybe if I wasn’t fat I wouldn’t be a comedian,” he continues.

"I think we all have an ideal body and this isn’t my ideal body... but it’s my body,” Jed adds.

Sophie Mayanne works as a photographer and suggests dieting can lead to more weight gain (Image: BBC)

SOPHIE MAYANNE

Photographer Sophie Mayanne weights 21 stone but thinks dieting could lead to more weight gain in the long run.

"I think restricting yourself and denying yourself things makes you then feel worse about yourself and then that leads to bingeing and more overeating,” she reasons.

"Your body and your experiences kind of lead you up to where you are today and then if you could change yourself then all of that history isn’t kind of present in your body,” she argues.

The photographer also thinks it is unfair she is judged on her appearance, arguing: "I know I’m fat but I go to work every day, I pay my bills, I take my dog for a walk."

Jo says she is full of fun despite being diagnosed as morbidly obese (Image: BBC)

JO

Plus size model Jo is 20 stone and gained weight when she was a teenager, struck down with glandular fever - when she would “sit there and eat” as she struggled through the illness.

"From a doctor’s point of view I am classed as morbidly obese. But I don’t think there is anything morbid about me, I can run, I can go upstairs," Jo says.

"People need to understand that not every fat person is lazy, some are but so are some thin people. It’s not just down to weight it’s down to the individual,” she argues.

Jo also rejects the idea that obesity should be celebrated, saying: "I am not saying I am proud to be fat, all I am here to say is you live your life how you want to live it."